A matter of worker freedom

Should anyone be compelled to support a political cause they don’t believe in?

That’s the crux of an Illinois legal issue almost certain to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In the past, the high court has ruled that workers in non-right-to-work states can be forced to pay “fair share” dues to unions as long as none of the money goes toward political purposes.

The money is supposed to be spent on the costs the unions incur representing these people at the bargaining table and administering the contract.

But as Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy pointed out last year, the situation for government workers is different.

Just about everything a union does on their behalf is political.

Think about it.

Some of the biggest political issues facing state government this year are state worker pensions, employee pay and staffing in state facilities.

And, guess what, all those issues are ones brought up in labor negotiations.

So all of what a government worker union does is political in nature.

Some people who work for state government, local school districts and municipalities don’t agree with their unions and don’t believe they should be forced to pay money to groups that may hold a different political position than they do.

And yet those workers continue to give money to unions because they want to hang onto their jobs.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Harris v. Quinn: “ … except perhaps in the rarest of circumstances, no person in this country may be compelled to subsidize speech by a third party that he or she does not wish to support.”

I was sitting in the courtroom when the Supreme Court heard the Harris case last year. It appeared a majority of the court is willing to look at the question of “fair-share” dues.

In fact, the Harris case prompted Gov. Bruce Rauner to issue an executive order this month saying that state workers do not have to pay money to unions – unless they want to.

Rauner is seeking a declaratory judgment in federal court to affirm that his actions are constitutional.

And that has to frighten union bosses nationwide.

Here’s why.

Ultimately if the U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of Rauner, every government worker in the United States could be off the hook for union dues.

And only those who want to belong, not those forced to pay, would support government unions.

And this wouldn’t be just for Illinois state workers. It would be for every city, state, county and school district employee in the United States.

That is how it is already in 25 states.

It’s a matter of worker freedom.

People should not be forced to give to a group they don’t agree with just to have a job.